That’s right, True Beleivers! Never since the team up of Spider-man and the cast of SNL has a blatant marketing scheme been brilliant comic genius. Stephen Colbert of the popular Colbert Report will be swinging with Spidey in Amazing Spider-man #573.

For awhile Marvel has stated Colbert was a candidate for the presidency in the Marvel Universe, but besides some background Easter eggs this was not anything major. Hopefully now we’ll see Colbert in a more prominent role in Marvel.

Mark Waid, one of the issue’s writers and comics legend, spoke to me about the project:

“It was a blast to write–the best note I ever got on a script was from the Colbert camp, who said simply “We’re having a nerd-gasm!” and asked for zero changes! So, apparently, if you love Colbert as much as I do, we nailed it!”

Pick up this title if you love America!

X-Mas In August

While Hot is interning with Satan, working on Hell’s new marketing campaign, Cold is starting his internship in the North Pole with Santa’s Workshop. Adjusting to a new job is always tricky, but even more so when your boss is slightly crazy and you live with an ever present threat of pounds of falling feces.

Hot & Cold © Matt Knicl 2008

You Bant Always Get What You Want

courtesy Wizards

For Magic: The Gathering fans anxiously awaiting the pre-release and launch of the next expansion of the card game the next two weekends, this news is the next best thing to actually cracking open a fresh booster pack. MTGSalvation.com has posted a reliable spoiler of cards’ information, minus the images.

This is the next best thing to Wizards’ visual spoiler, which has the cards in their entirety, though not the complete set. Check out MTGSalvation if you want the edge in upcoming drafts!

It’s not a goof or a hoax! If you buy recently released 10th Edition “Start Here” packs, which include 2 10th Edition booster packs, 20 basic lands, and a foil rare (around $10), then you may get some lands from Shards of Alara.

I just bought this set for the heck of it, and ended up with some random lands from Shards of Alara. The expansion comes out in two weeks, but if you want some mad props from your 733t friends, buying this starter set is not a Shard decision.

Hell To Pay

Hot is off doing his own thing, working in his hometown, Hell, for Satan, the Prince of Lies. Hell’s marketing plan is in full swing, and I made some crazy obscure references to Greek mythology and Dante’s Inferno. Trying to show Hell in a positive light was darkly fun, so I’ll probably milk these jokes for quite some time…

Hot & Cold © Matt Knicl 2008

Stop Crying Wolf!

courtesy Image

Why do we read comics? Is it to read a good story, to be moved like we would if we were reading literature? Or are you an art connoisseur, and you read to see illustrations?

While many comic fans pretend to understand and be art experts, the main reason we read comics is for the good story. And good stories need characters we care about, characters established so the writer can then utilize them in new situations that tell great stories.

I’ve defended Robert Kirkman’s use of large sections of dialog because I know that all the talking has a legitimate point. He had to take time to wind up his toys so he could let them go, and Astounding Wolf-Man #8 panders to those people who read but hate reading. Compared to other Kirkman titles, this issue has little dialog. The characters are already established so long-winded speeches aren’t needed.

Kudos, Mr. Kirkman. Now let me interview you!

Tonight at midnight players can create characters and begin playing Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, the newest MMORPG, a fantasy multiplayer game in the vein of Blizzard’s World of Warcraft. This game looks very cool visually and many gamers are planning to start playing or switch from WoW.

But Warhammer poses some marketing problems. The first is about the world of the game itself. Warhammer is a collectible game played on tables with figurines produced by Games Workshop. The world is generic fantasy with heavy Tolkien influences. Maybe more darker than most fantasy worlds, but it’s traditional fantasy at its core. The same can be said of Warcraft, Magic: The Gathering and many fantasy properties. The reason these properties can coexist is due to their different mediums. Warcraft has always been video games, Warhammer as tabletop games, Magic as a card game, and so forth. But these properties are essentially the same sort of world, only riffed slightly for copyright issues. Warhammer is fresh and unique because it’s a tabletop game, not because its story is so badass it transcends mediums. There is a reason WoW shouldn’t have been made a card game, and why Magic’s video games never really caught on. To each his own.

But the biggest drawback to Warhammer is its presentation. Yes, if you are a PC gamer with all the right cards and hardware you can play the game. Everyone else is out. Warcraft can be played on PC or Mac, and while lower graphics, playable on most recent computers, including my 5-year-old iBook, which is saying something. Blizzard has the right attitude towards this sort of gaming, trying to get a multitude of customers. Maybe Warhammer will be this way, but so far all that game has done is alienate me from playing with its hardware restrictions and unimaginative premise.

Now, Warhammer 40K would be an amazing game…

The Walrus to Blizzard’s
Carpenter - we are the oysters

Hey there my fellow Guildsmen and women. Finally the second expansion for World of Warcraft’s release date has been revealed - 11.13.08.

This expansion features a new continent, a higher max level, and the much anticipated Death Knight class. I’ve leveled up quite a bit since I began playing a few weeks ago, but I’m still nowhere near Death Knight level (55), so it will be awhile until I personally am able to reap the benefits from the game, but I’m excited that this expansion will bring players back tot heir accounts.

This is also good because Warhammer Online is going to grab some of the WoW gamers, but with Lich King, hopefully they won’t grab too many.

image copyright Blizzard Entertainment

Daniel Shows Us The Way!

I was skeptical. Fabian Nicieza really defined the character and brought him to the zany, fourth dimensional limits we all have come to expect from this character. Daniel Way’s run of Wolverine: Origins was lackluster, having what seemed like a single fight taking five issues.

I read those Wolverine issues, and I swear that this Deadpool is almost from a different writer. This new Deadpool is on par with Nicieza’s. What I mean is Way’s previous Deadpool read like watered down Nicieza, almost what Way thought Deadpool should be written like. But this Deadpool from the new Secret Invasion tied-in series is brand new and rustic old.

If you are a fan of Deadpool, I highly recommend this continuation. This series was always one that recognized the craziness of comics, and having a reality check from time to time again is essential for us nerds. Plus, reality checks are always best accompanied by big guns and pop culture references.

Global Lukewarming

The end of the world is nigh. Nigh impossible if you ask me, but heck, I’m not trying to sell a book. It looks like Cold is buying this idea of global warming… and he’s buying the book, extended director’s cut DVD and a rubber bracelet that says “Green” on it.

And I wonder where his demonic pal Hot went?

Hot & Cold © Matt Knicl 2008